Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Flemming Audio Labs Stage 1 Phono Preamp by Dman

Model:	Stage 1
Category:	Phono Preamp
Suggested Retail Price:	$249 USD
Description:	Moving Coil headamp
Manufacturer URL:	Flemming Audio Labs
Manufacturer URL:	Flemming Audio Labs

Review by Dman on August 10, 2004 at 12:43:22
IP Address: 216.58.9.17

Add Your Review
for the Stage 1

I must confess, a few years ago (four to be exact), I was a moving coil newbie! I had just fell out of love with a nearly free but seriously worn Shure V-15MR and was about to give in and buy another moving magnet cartridge when a good friend of mine suggested that I try an Audio Technica OC-9 ML in my system. My friend assured me at that time that it would be a cost effective solution to the lack of everything I had felt with moving magnet carts, and with vinyl playback in general (lets not even get into the â€˜table/arm end of things!). I relented and tried another friendâ€™s worn OC-9ML, on the promise to said friend that if I liked it, Iâ€™d buy a new one and start down the path of MC heaven and hell (for whatever reason, he was planning on re-tipping the loaner I was borrowing- at a cost of more than the cartridge was new! But thatâ€™s another story for another â€˜site).
After much self-debate, a new OC-9ML became part of my systems evolving front end. I also was able to borrow an Ortofon T-10 step up transformer from an acquaintance here at AA. This combination served very well, getting me a great sense of what the MC movement was all about at a low cost. Shortly thereafter, I picked up my own T-10 step up (via Ebay through yet another AA inmate!) and was on my way to more musical bliss (read: more tweaks to â€˜table. arm, and cart). After that time, Iâ€™ve tried MANY step up devices- some active and some transformer based. Some very cheap (in both sound and construction) and some that either based on cost or looks, didnâ€™t fare well with WAF. But none of them seemed to have the openness, lack of grain, and finely focused sound that the T-10 offered. Regardless your thoughts on the T-10 (love it or hate it), it has worked in my system without complaint for the better part of three years now. It still sounds great and is a REAL giant killer in terms of the dollar to performance ratio. Its used value (to my knowledge) has been steadily rising, although it can still be had for the sub$100US range in most markets.
But my thinking about transformers changed about a month agoâ€¦
As most of you know, I have been frequenting the website and business of Flemming Audio Labs, and his partnership/storefront, Omega Audio. Dare I say I have terrorized Lloyd Flemming on more than one occasion, either through phone call or by personal visit. He has always been a gracious host, even if his residence resembles a mad scientists lab (he works on more than just audio equipment, but thatâ€™s not the issue at hand nor am I privy to talk about his other electronic developments). He built my preamplifier- the Custom Cathode Follower, as I have named it (review here at AA in tube preamps, under â€œFlemming Preampâ€ if you look for it), a hand built, point-to-point all tube model, based on his nearly famous Triode Model 3. He is also at work on some new ideas and concepts for audio, but most notably his latest accomplishment has been the Stage series of phono amplification, new available through his website at www.flemmingaudio.com.
As I said, I have either terrorized him enough or gained enough trust to get equipment loaners from time to time without his worry of me selling them for crack or worse. In this case, He and his business associate, Andy, approached me and asked if Iâ€™d be willing to audition and review, wherever possible, the Stage 1 Moving Coil Headamp. I agreed, with a skeptical tone, of course. There are two reasons for this. First, Iâ€™ve never been asked to review gear for anyone, be it magazine or equipment manufacturer! While Iâ€™d been involved for a time with amplifier production/troubleshooting at Sonic Frontiers International (back when it was just Sonic Frontiers Incorporated- leaving just before the Paradigm buyout), I felt that Iâ€™d been out of the industry long enough to disqualify me from serious reviewing/opinion giving. Secondly, you already know how I feel about my T-10, so I need not repeat that. While feeling honored to be trusted by friends who are trying to make a name for them in the high-end audio world, wanting my opinion on a new product, I felt like I should hold back and be a little more democratic about my review. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lloyd and Andy wanted me to pull out all the stops. They were (and are) so positive about this design, that they were sure that Iâ€™d love the thing. Hmmâ€¦
Lloyd explained the topology to me. As he explained thing to me (also on his website) it dawned on me, all units in the Stage series would be based on- (GASP!)- SOLID STATE DEVICES!!! The Stage 1 moving coil preamp not only uses solid-state devices, but OP-AMPS instead of discrete transistors!!! Now those of you in the know realize the Flemming is a true TUBE diehard! The man can tell you anything and everything about tubes- and not just which ones sound best, but WHY they sound the way they do. Through some serious engineering homework, Lloyd has been able to get these little begrudged op-amps to sound incredible, and has claimed total transparency, with no noise or distortion produced! Indeed, he claims to have â€œremovedâ€ the solid state sound.
Well, what can one say? Could I end things right now and say the Stage 1 sounded better than everything that Iâ€™ve ever heard before? â€œYeah, sure!â€ as one inmate said to me in a reply about a previous cartridge review Iâ€™d just recently posted here. But lets back up the talk a little more walk this time.
Once I had the Stage 1 in my system, and after an evening or so of just leaving it plugged in (said unit was claimed to have more than 20+ hours of break in on it), I got up the next day to put on some vinyl. The first record up was the Sheffield Drum Record, a hard hitting, hard to track orgy of drumming, by Jim Keltner and Ron Tutt. This record has been a basis for my assessment of gear for a few years now (especially phono front ends!). The cymbals shimmered with even more life than through the T-10 (other MC stages have reduced these cymbals to the sonic equivalent of electronic drum machine samples, and other have just not gotten the top end to gel properly, even the best Iâ€™ve heard). Images in general float so free of the speakers that you swear that there are no speakers!!! Bottom end had a truer drum skin tone (that plastic or skin drum head thing again) and the left to right image not only had better individual separation, but more height and 3D portrayal to it. This wasnâ€™t dependant of the speakers, but seemed to be part of the life of the recording. And Iâ€™m not just referring to playback through my own Dahlquist DQ-10/Dayton 1200 subs either, but to other speakers as well, such as smaller speakers like Dynaco A-25s, custom built transmission lines, Large Advents (YES, even those arenâ€™t TOO big to me!), and bigger models like Maggies and Audiostatics. As scary as it sounds, with this phono stage hooked up to other rigs Iâ€™ve tried it on, it just sounded real! No hype or other artifacts to give a tip off to a record (other than the LPâ€™s own surface noise and imperfections). I can only hope that the people that have heard it will make good and contact Flemming audio- he needs the clientele!
More about the sound- really and seriously, there is no sound to this unit, at least none that I can put a finger on, regardless of the sytem. Summing it up- Bass is tuneful and very tight, seemingly limited by the record/â€™table. Same with the treble and mid-bands- the sound just seems to project off the record and into the room! Really, things take on life in the room, or rather; you get pulled into the recorded venue, front walls and speakers disappearing as best as they can. Again, you are limited by the downstream electronics (Iâ€™ve realized where some minor system faults are as a result of using this unit and am planning to make adjustments accordingly!), but really, its what I call â€œstupid good!â€ You have to hear it to believe it.
As a bit of control to my enthusiasm, every once in a while Iâ€™d plug the T-10 back in place just to be sure I wasnâ€™t hearing hype or those â€œhappy colorationsâ€ that are sometimes built into some hi-fi stuff, or that I wasnâ€™t experiencing that â€œNew Gear On Christmas morning syndromeâ€ that happens the first time we plug in something new. Well, every time I plugged in the T-10, or any other stage that Iâ€™d begged, borrowed (but never stolen!), I kept feeling like something was broken or misadjusted in the system. This result seemed to follow to the other systems Iâ€™ve tried the T-10 vs. the Stage 1 showdown with. Speaking with Lloyd and Andy before writing this review, I asked them what they heard when comparing the Stage 1 to other MC stages, and without repeating myself, I can say they came to the same conclusion- things really only seem limited by the source material/â€™table combination, sounding like the venue and recording there rather than the electronics. Weirdly enough, Lloyd and Andy also agreed with me on the â€œit sounds brokenâ€ issue of the T-10 (and theyâ€™ve both collectively owned THOUSANDS of MC stages- both transformer and active!)- While it is a good basic transformer and a great starter step up, the Stage 1 bluntly, walked all over it, and everything else theyâ€™ve tried as well!!!
Needless to say, I am buying the sample that was supplied to me. I get the feeling the Lloyd and Andy knew this would happen. And Iâ€™m standing firm on my review here. If you donâ€™t trust me, contact the website and find out for yourself!!! Iâ€™m glad I did.

Product Weakness: AC wall wart. But this is needed to achive the lowest noise possible.
Product Strengths: Transparent sound.
Easy to position and setup.
Musical and enjoyable without problems.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Crown Power Line 3, SWR Stereo 800, SFI Power 3 monos, Bryston 4B-NRB, Flemming Audio LabsTR-150 Reference Amplifiers
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Flemming Custom Cathode Follower, Conrad Johnson PV-1, SFI Line 3, Flemming Triode Model 3
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Linn- Axis/Akito II/Ortofon Kontrapunkt A, Townsend Rock (?)/rega RB300/Benz Micro Glider, Linn LP-12/Eko/AT OC-9ML fully updated, Micro Seiki/SME arm/Ortofon MC15 super(?)
Speakers:	Dahlquist DQ-10/Dayton 1200 subs, Maggie mg2(?), Audiostatic ES300/Focal Sub, Martin Logan Sequels/Janis sub, Large Advent
Cables/Interconnects:	various, depending on system
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	everything from Rock and Techno to Classical and Jazz
Type of Audition/Review:	Dealer Demo

Product Weakness:	AC wall wart. But this is needed to achive the lowest noise possible.
Product Strengths:	Transparent sound. Easy to position and setup. Musical and enjoyable without problems.